I Was Given an Antidepressant—When What I Needed Was Progesterone

I’ll never forget the day I sat in that doctor’s office at 24 years old.

I had been struggling for months—not just with anxiety, but with heavy periods, intense PMS, and fibroids that were already starting to grow. My body felt like it was turning against me. I was exhausted, emotionally drained, and starting to experience something I had never felt before:

Intense panic.Heart racing. Hands shaking. A sense of dread I couldn’t name or control.

I knew something was wrong, and I was desperate for answers.

When I finally got in to see a doctor, I expected a deeper conversation—some bloodwork, maybe questions about my cycle. But instead, I was in and out in under 30 minutes, holding a prescription for an SSRI antidepressant.

No one asked about my hormones. No one connected the dots between my panic, my PMS, and the fibroids. No one considered that what I really needed was hormonal support—not medication.

That was 22 years ago. And I’m still tapering off that prescription—because my brain became chemically dependent on something that was never designed to address the root cause.

Here’s what I wish I had known:

SSRIs can slow down the liver’s ability to break down estrogen.That means estrogen builds up—And if you don’t have enough progesterone to balance it, it becomes unopposed estrogen.

That hormonal state is linked to anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, and yes—fibroid growth.

But it goes even deeper than that…

What Most Women Don’t Know About SSRIs and Long-Term Health

According to Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy, a renowned integrative oncologist and founder of the Cancer Center for Healing, long-term SSRI use may increase your risk of certain hormone-driven cancers—especially when paired with underlying estrogen dominance.

Here’s why:

• Serotonin can stimulate estrogen activity in the body. And over 85% of breast cancers are estrogen-driven.

• SSRIs often cause progesterone to fall even further, leaving estrogen unopposed.

• They also tend to suppress melatonin, a hormone that plays a crucial role in preventing cancer by regulating healthy cell growth and supporting the immune system.

  
  

When you combine high estrogen, low progesterone, and reduced melatonin, you create an internal environment that may encourage the development of abnormal tissue—especially in estrogen-sensitive areas like the breasts and uterus.

Dr. Connealy doesn’t suggest SSRIs directly cause cancer. But she does emphasize that they can contribute to the hormonal and inflammatory terrain in which disease thrives—especially when the root issue is never addressed.

The Truth Is…

I didn’t need to be medicated. I needed someone to explain that progesterone plays a calming role in the brain. That it supports GABA (your brain’s primary calming neurotransmitter). That it helps regulate estrogen and soothe an overactive nervous system.

The hardest part?

All of it might have been avoidable…If someone had supported my hormones back then.If I had been given progesterone instead of a prescription.

I’ve spent the last several years on a root-cause healing path—detoxing, learning, supporting my adrenals, and finally getting the progesterone my body needed all along.

Even though I no longer have a uterus, progesterone is still the foundation of my HRT. It helps me sleep. It keeps my mood steady. It helps me feel safe in my body again.

If you’re facing anxiety or panic and feel like something deeper is going on…

Please don’t settle for quick answers. Don’t silence your symptoms. You deserve real answers, real support, and real healing.

If your gut has been whispering—or screaming—that something is off…

Start there. It just might change everything.🤍

If you’re ready to explore hormone support options, you can check out @raenahealth on Instagram or visit their website. I personally use their progesterone and love their root-cause approach to hormone care.

You can use my code STEFANIE for 10% off.

Because you do deserve to feel like yourself again.